Running A/C in parked RV all summer

[mockturtle]

Due to situations beyond my control, I am forced to spend most of the summer at my home in Yuma this year. I don't have [nor do I want] an RV garage and so it is exposed to sun and considerable heat. Not wanting to ruin the interior [solid maple cabinets, bedding, etc.] I am running the A/C from the 30 amp hookup outside my home. Other than cost, is there any problem with doing this?

[wa8yxm]

When my ENgine blew I was stuck in S.E. GA for 3 years. YOu can bet your buttons I ran my A/Cs full time all summer long and most of the winter as well.

The only problem is routing wear and tear Carrier's do have a wear issue.

[pnichols]

The interior of an RV in the direct sun can get much hotter than the outside air is ... which is of course really hard on stuff inside the RV.

The best low energy way to protect the RV's interior from excessive heat deterioration is to at least let the interior get NO HOTTER than the outside air temperature. You can do this by just setting your rooftop vent fan's speed on HIGH and setting it's rotation direction to BLOW OUT. Then open either another roof vent in the other end of the roof or open some window slightly in the other end of the interior- so as to pull outside air into and through the interior to exit out the running fan. Running a vent fan like this takes very little electrical energy and some rooftop vent fans even have a thermistat to control how hot it has to get inside to get it to come on.

We do this all the time while our RV is sitting in the back yard in the sun in the summer. We have two rooftop vents - one in each end of the RV. We turn the front multi-speed reversible vent fan to blow out with a medium high thermistat setting so that this fan automatically lets the interior get no hotter than the outside air - via a constant exchange of air throughout the interior. This is better than wearing out an air conditioner (and paying the electricity bill to run it) to keep the interior unnecessarily way cooler than the outside air temperature.

However ... also a big concern is also what the sun's rays are doing to the exterior paint and more importantly ... the window/vent/door sealants. There is no substitute for storing an RV at least in the shade out of the sun - whether that be in Alaska or Arizona.

[pauldub]

Since you don't want an RV garage, maybe you could consider a tarp shelter. The components for a tarp shelter are readily available in Yuma and they're not very expensive.

[valhalla360]

Should be fine but a waste of money and wear on the air/con unit.

Shades over the windows should stop the UV damage and the rest should be fine.

[JimK-NY]

I don't see why it should be necessary to run AC for an unoccupied camper. If you decide that is necessary, I would buy a cheap unit from a discount store and run it instead of the RV cooler. The cost would be minimal compared with the wear and tear and potential failure of the built in unit.

[j-d]

Agree on A/C for storage at those temps if you can't shade it. 9600 shouldn't tax a good 30A receptacle and plug, but you may find this interesting. Took a junk 30A receptacle apart today and just shot a pic of the contacts.

Top is Ground, pristine. Right is Neutral/White, again pristine.
Left is Hot/Black, scorched AND spread. Can't fix this without taking the whole receptacle apart. When I took the back insulator off, I could slide Ground and Neutral out. Cleaning would have been possible.
NOT THE HOT. Discolored, pitted AND SPREAD. About two credit card thicknesses between the blades compared to none on Neutral.
The plastic of the receptacle was so warped around that contact, that I had to break it to get the copper part out.
This means that there's no productive way to tune up a receptacle before plugging in.
Campers abuse them, too. Plug and unplug with A/C running, try to run a 50 coach off 30 with an adapter, etc.
If a site IS 50A, I plug in there with an adapter. The molded 30A receptacle on the adapter is gone, replaced with a box that has a receptacle I can replace from time to time from Lowe's, HD etc.
Campground 30A pedestal breakers get tired too, so I just connect to 50A and let my main coach breaker worry about the 30A max load.

[mockturtle]

Thanks, everyone. I do use insulated reflective foil on the windows. My A/C is 9600 BTU so no problem on 30 amp. I'll plan to leave it on. I drive it about once a week so it is not continually plugged in. Since the outside temperature reaches 120 degrees F. here, the interior temperatures can be even hotter. My foam bedding, pillows, etc. will be much happier with A/C.

[Lwiddis]

Oh my. 108 average in July.

[sch911]

IMHO keeping the inside the same temp as the outside would be best. Shield the windows so that sun can't fade surfaces, but it it were me the AC would be off. All of that stuff can handle those temperatures without failing.

[SoundGuy]

mockturtle wrote:
Other than cost, is there any problem with doing this?

For longer term use I'd be concerned about times when source voltage might drop excessively low, the solution being to invest in a voltage regulator such as the Hughes Autoformer which would eliminate this as a concern and thereby protect your A/C.

FWIW, back in our popup days I used Reflectix in all the bunk end windows during extremely hot summer days and it made a significant difference in how hard the A/C had to work at keeping the interior comfortably cool.

[Jim]

I'm in full agreement with J-D. Check your 30 amp contacts thoroughly and make very sure that they are very tight. A loose 30Amp contact soon heats up and darkens. Slowly over time, that causes an increase in resistance which causes heat which ruins the power head as it melts.

It may be even with tight connections, the amount of run time for your A/C in Yuma over the summer will ruin the head so might as well get a spare from Home Depot or Lowe's or your neighborhood Ace Hardware so you have it on hand. I always carried an extra and they came in handy.

I'd certainly check the power cord head every morning or late afternoon when it's cool enough to work on if necessary. About all you can do is wire brush the main contact on the head.

[j-d]

If voltage is OK, filters and drains clean, it's just wear on an appliance that's otherwise just an old "window shaker" room unit. A very long-lived machine. In addition to the other cautions mentioned, be sure your Plug and Receptacle are pristine. I doubt you have a 15000 unit on that Bengal with its size, but those put a lot of load on 30A receptacles. Just be sure connections are tight and the contacts are clean and bright. Can't really tune a 30A receptacle up, unless you take it all apart. Best to replace.

[doxiemom11]

We were parked in Yuma over the winter and the sun was hot! We are now in N Mexico and the later afternoon sun shines on the windshield. Having the drapes pulled didn't help much. We ordered a roll of reflectix that was 4' X 10' from Amazon and put it in the windshield between the windshield and drapes. What a difference!!! I would get rolls and cover all of your windows. It will sure help the A/C and your electric bill. Our A/C runs 2-3 hours less per day now for comfortable inside temps.

[Boon_Docker]

The sun can fade things out (cover the windows), but I don't think that the heat will affect anything in the trailer.